


Ed Isn't Dead, Details Later

by the5throommate



Series: zine writing sample yeah its IT lmao pls dont judge [1]
Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: Blood and Gore, M/M, Very graphic, body horror?, i really dont know what more to tag this, if youve seen reanimator then u know whats up, major character death but then...undeath??, medical setting, needles tw, re-animator au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-09
Updated: 2020-05-09
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:07:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,270
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24094072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the5throommate/pseuds/the5throommate
Summary: The cat had been dead. Then it hadn't.
Relationships: Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier
Series: zine writing sample yeah its IT lmao pls dont judge [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1914472
Comments: 5
Kudos: 17





	Ed Isn't Dead, Details Later

**Author's Note:**

> based on [the short comic](https://twitter.com/barbiesswanlake/status/1256642898977624064?s=20) by [barbieswanlake](https://twitter.com/barbiesswanlake) on twitter :) i apologize in advance :)

Death is not a singular happening. It’s not just the heart stopping, the breath ceasing. It’s not instant. It’s a process. It’s an event that happens in steps. Reversible steps, if one acted fast enough. If one was lucky. 

After its first success, Richie Tozier knew that he would never have to be lucky ever again. The cat had been  _ dead _ . Then it hadn’t. Okay, yeah, it had bitten him once or twice after, but Richie understood. One minute you’re being run down by a semi truck on a highway in rural Maine, the next you’re waking up in a med student’s basement with an experimental serum coursing through your veins, being pumped through your body by your previously dead heart. You’re bound to be a bit stand-offish after something like that. 

Since then, he had been secretly wishing,  _ praying _ for the chance to try it on a human subject. That one guy from about a month ago, the guy that had been run down on his bike near the school? Now  _ that _ guy; that guy would have been  _ perfect _ . 

Richie couldn’t decide on whether this was a karma moment or a be-careful-what-you-wish-for moment. Either would be better than the likely reality that what had happened had happened for no reason, that there was no greater scheme, no grander plan for it all in the long run. Looking into Eddie’s eyes, he knew. But just because he  _ knew _ what happened didn’t mean he had to  _ accept _ what happened. 

“We can still help him, we-we can still save him!” 

“Richie, honey,” Beverly’s voice sounded foggy and distant, even though she was right at his shoulder, struggling to hold him back. “Honey, he’s gone.” 

“Please, we can-” his words broke off into a sob and his knees buckled, Beverly the only thing letting him ease down to the floor instead of simply collapsing. She knelt next to him, hugging him close as he cried, more of a scream than a sob. 

“Richie, I’m sorry. I’m so, so sorry, we did everything we could. We tried everything, he just-”

Her voice became white noise in his head. They hadn’t tried everything. Not even close. 

He stood now in the middle of the room, pristine white walls and tile floors splattered with blood. Beverly had left to give him a few moments to himself, and to most likely alert the morgue downstairs that a bodybag needed to be sent up. Richie approached the table, afraid of what he already knew was there. 

Eddie. 

He was dead. Very, very much dead. His eyes were still open, mouth taped shut around the tube they had forced down his throat. His blood-soaked shirt had been cut away from the gaping hole in his chest and was dangling off the side of the table, becoming stiff and dry. He was unnaturally pale, only making the blood that splattered his skin stand out an even brighter shade of red. 

Richie pushed a few buttons on the monitor with shaking fingers, just wanting that damn alarm to stop sounding. But even after it was off, Richie’s ear still rang. He removed his bloodstained gloves, letting them fall to the floor without any thought. With slight hesitation he brought a bare hand up to caress Eddie’s face, to smooth back his hair and wipe off what blood he could. He was still warm. 

Methodically, gently, as if Eddie could still feel, Richie tidied him up the best that he could. He peeled the tape from his face and pulled the tube from his throat, which made a disgusting sucking sound as it was removed, coming out covered in blood. He removed the IVs from his arm, slipping the pulse oximeter from a stiffening finger. 

“‘m just cleaning you up a bit,” Richie murmured to Eddie(‘s body), “you’re not gonna want all this junk stuck onto you when you wake up.” 

He unhooked the ECG and peeled off the electrodes one by one, being extra careful around the two fresh burns on Eddie’s chest. They had understandably been in a bit of a rush. No time to be careful. 

“Okay, there you go, Eds. We can hose you off later, get you a nice change of clothes,” Richie held Eddie’s face in his hands, tears beginning to blur his vision, running a thumb soothingly over Eddie’s cheek. Without thinking he leaned down and kissed Eddie’s lips. They were cold and tasted like blood. “This is gonna work. I promise.” 

Richie wrapped an arm around Eddie’s shoulders, using his other hand to support his limp head, pulling him up to a sitting position and balancing him against his chest, letting his chin rest on Richie’s shoulder. Still holding Eddie with one hand, Richie dug around in the pocket of his coat and from it pulled a large syringe and a cold glass bottle of a thick, green, glowing liquid. He felt butterflies in his stomach. 

“This is gonna pinch a bit,” Richie said, drawing the serum into the barrel of the syringe. It was like they were hugging, with Richie filling the syringe behind Eddie’s back. Even (temporarily) dead, Richie didn’t want Eddie to see the needle. He had seen him freak out over the little ones, and he didn’t even want to think about what Eddie would do if he saw a 14 gauge anywhere near his skin. Richie positioned the syringe at the base of Eddie’s skull and counted down from three. 

With one swift jab Richie sank the needle fully into Eddie’s neck, swearing he could hear the crunch of cartilage when he did. He pushed the plunger, taking small, shaky breaths as he watched the green glow disappear beneath cold flesh. Slowly, he removed the syringe, making sure none of the priceless liquid leaked out.

Richie let the empty syringe clatter next to the empty bottle on the table. He hugged Eddie tight to his chest, fingers resting on his neck, waiting for something, anything, even the smallest sign that it worked. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” he said, tears dripping down his face onto Eddie’s hair. He felt it. The slightest twitch under the skin. A small noise that could have been a breath. The butterflies rose from Richie’s stomach and into his throat, escaping as a laugh. “Eddie-”

He felt the body in his arms twitch and tense, a deep, gargling gasp, scared and desperate. “Eddie. Eddie, Eddie, Eddie, it’s okay, I’m here, Eddie, it’s me, I’m here-” 

Richie broke their embrace so he could hold Eddie at arm’s length, to see him wake up, to see him come back. He was practically sitting up on his own now, not yet steady, head nodding a bit like someone falling asleep. Richie held up Eddie’s face by his chin, looking him in still blank eyes. He blinked. His mouth opened and closed. Richie let out a small sob when Eddie locked his eyes on his. 

“Hey, baby,” Richie croaked. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m here, I’m right here! Can you see me? I’m right here.” 

Eddie just gawked at him. He could hear him breathing; wet and shallow like a bad case of pneumonia. Still some blood in there. He could take care of that. He leaned in, kissed Eddie again. It wasn’t until Richie tried to pull away that he realized Eddie had a death grip on the collar of his shirt. 

“I love you, Eddie.” 

Eddie took in a slow, deep, gurgling breath through his mouth. He gripped Richie tighter. 

Tears forming in his eyes, body beginning to shake, Eddie opened his mouth and began to scream.


End file.
